NDP asks for federal probe into soaring Canadian grocery prices

As Canadians struggle to fill the fridge, the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) is demanding an investigation into skyrocketing food prices.

Speaking on Tuesday, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh called for the agriculture committee to investigate the prices of groceries, saying Canadians dealing with sticker shock isn’t fair and doesn’t make sense.

“We’re seeing prices go up when it comes to food. We’re seeing profits go up, and we aren’t seeing the prices come down,” Singh said. “It is clear to us that there is corporate greed contributing to inflation. This is a problem.”

The federal NDP leader said he’s equally concerned over price fixing at grocery stores.

The cost of groceries is up almost 11 per cent, on the whole, this year in Canada compared to 2021, according to Statistics Canada.

RELATED: Canada’s inflation rate slows to 7.6% in July as gas prices fall

Many individual staples, such as meat, coffee and cooking oil, have surged more than that. Yet, Canada’s top three grocery chains — Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys — have all posted increased profits in their most recent financial reports.

Loblaws and Metro attribute that to a rise in pharmaceutical sales primarily driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual inflation rate slowed to 7.0 per cent in August, Statistics Canada said last week in its latest monthly consumer price index (CPI) report. Before the report’s release, RBC forecast inflation in August was 7.2 per cent.

The price of gasoline falling drove the slowdown; however, Canadians are still feeling the pinch at the grocery store.

Rising food prices caused by several global issues: RCC

Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull sits on the committee. He said he’s not sure if it’s the right time for an investigation but noted that this issue needs to be looked at more closely.

“Profits we see that the companies are making is concerning if you look at what Canadians are going through right now,” Turnbull said.

The federal NDP is calling for a probe into grocery store profits. Photo: Unsplash.

The Retail Council of Canada pushed back, saying rising food prices result from various issues, including high fuel costs, extreme weather and the war in Ukraine. In fact, the RCC said grocery chain profits are lower than many other industries.

Excluding gasoline prices, year-over-year inflation was 6.3 per cent, making August the first month since June 2021 where annual inflation excluding gasoline has slowed.

As grocery prices soared in August, prices for bakery goods were up 15.4 per cent, while prices for fresh fruit were 13.2 per cent higher than a year ago. Gas prices were up 22.1 per cent in August compared with a year ago but down 17.9 per cent since June.